


The Waiting Game

by Sumi



Series: going through the motions [6]
Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27069361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/pseuds/Sumi
Summary: Ellie couldn’t resist a weak laugh. “As good as I can be, Dee. I just keep thinking of what would’ve happened if we hadn’t gotten there in time to stop that bitch from beating him to death. What fucking gets me is why. Why the hell did they target him like that? I know Joel’s done some bad shit in his life, but what they did was beyond fucked up.”“We’ll ask Joel when he wakes up,” Dina said, sounding firm in her answer.
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us)
Series: going through the motions [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975618
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32
Collections: Fic In A Box





	The Waiting Game

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheseusInTheMaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseusInTheMaze/gifts).



Ellie knows they’d had a lot of close calls over the years, but this had to be the worst one yet. If Ellie, Dina, and Jesse hadn’t stumbled onto Joel and Tommy when they did then Joel would be fucking dead. He was only one or two blows to the head away from having his brains splattered all over the wall behind him.

They didn’t come out of it unscathed. Ellie sustained some pretty bad injuries in the attempt to save Joel. They managed to take down some of those fuckers, the rest fleeing into the storm.

She didn’t understand why these assholes targeted Joel and Tommy. Tommy explained what he could, but it didn’t answer any questions. The only thing Ellie could do was wait until Joel woke up. Hopefully, he’d be the one to hold some answers.

It was a fucking miracle the old man managed to pull through in the first place. It was touch and go for a while, which Ellie straight up refused to accept. She couldn’t lose another person-- especially not Joel. He didn’t get to fucking die on her just when they started repairing their relationship.

For the first day or two, Ellie straight up refused to leave Joel’s bedside. Dina had to almost literally drag her away and force her to get a few hours of sleep. She would’ve snuck back out to the clinic, but Dina and Jesse took shifts guarding her door and making sure Ellie didn’t have a chance to escape.

The first thing Ellie did was make her displeasure known. What fucking right did Jesse and Dina have to pull her away from Joel? They should understand that she had to make sure to keep an eye on him. The last time Joel nearly fucking died, Ellie had spent so much time just staring, willing the stubborn man to hurry up and wake up.

Ellie was pissed until her head hit the pillow and she fell into a deep, uneasy sleep. When Ellie finally did wake up, she found that her body felt more rested than it had before. Jesse and Dina had been right-- much to Ellie’s annoyance. She wouldn’t tell them they were right. The ‘I told you so’ looks on their faces were something Ellie was desperate to avoid.

She didn’t bother changing her clothes. Ellie just threw on a clean hoodie and rushed back to Joel. He was still in the same state he had been in all those hours ago. Still fucking breathing at least.

Joel was fucking stubborn. There was no way he wasn’t going to survive this. He had too. Ellie refused to live in a world where Joel Miller wasn’t still standing and breathing.

When Ellie started to spend too much time sitting in the chair just beside Joel’s bed again, Dina pulled her out. She got her something to eat, sitting beside her as the cold Jackson Wyoming air surrounded them.

Ellie wasn’t bothered by the cold. Never had been before and she certainly wasn’t now. Sitting out here with Dina was sobering. It helped focus her mind temporarily away from Joel.

“You doing okay, El?” Dina asked once Ellie finished eating. When Ellie snorted, Dina responded with a playful elbow in the side. “I mean besides the obvious Babe so don’t give me any angry looks.”

Ellie couldn’t resist a weak laugh. “As good as I can be, Dee. I just keep thinking of what would’ve happened if we hadn’t gotten there in time to stop that bitch from beating him to death. What fucking gets me is why. Why the hell did they target him like that? I know Joel’s done some bad shit in his life, but what they did was beyond fucked up.”

“We’ll ask Joel when he wakes up,” Dina said, sounding firm in her answer.

Ellie wished she could sound so fucking sure of herself. It didn’t matter how many times she tried to tell herself that Joel would come out of this. Those doubts kept creeping inside, making Ellie less and less sure of herself.

It took another day for Joel to wake up. Ellie wasn’t by his side when it happened, much to her frustration. She had gone to get some sleep, only to be woken up a few hours later by Dina telling her Joel had finally come around. He was confused and in pain, but alert.

Ellie approached the door, but all of a sudden felt this surge of anxiety fill her body. Her outstretched hand shook, forcing Ellie to take a deep breath. She had to close her eyes and force out the images of Joel’s battered body that flooded her mind.

“Ellie, you can give it a few you know,” Dina murmured, arms coming to wrap around Ellie’s waist. “If anyone’s going to understand it’ll be Joel.”

“I know, but I need to see him and make sure he's alive. Please understand that, Dee.”

Elle’s pleas were accepted by Dina who just pressed a kiss to the back of her neck before letting go. “Want me to come in with you?”

She posed the question as Ellie’s hand grasped the doorknob. All Ellie could do was vigorously nod, the words trapped in her throat. She was trying to work up the nerve to turn the damn thing, but it felt like she was stuck.

It took a full minute to build up the courage to go inside. Once Ellie finally walked inside, Joel’s eyes flicked over to her. His face was bruised, swollen, and half unrecognizable, but the most important thing is that he was alive, awake, and looking at her.

“Hey kiddo,” Joel croaked out, voice sounding like it was laced with pain.

Ellie swallowed. “Hey old man.”

She wanted to say so and do so many things. All Ellie could do was nervously approach the bed and put one hand on Joel’s exposed shoulder.

The two of them still had a lot to talk about, but there would be time for that. Thank fucking god.


End file.
